Nice writeup Mr. Duke. It is good to hear there's something genuinely new in the sportbike world with the crossplane crank. I'm curious though about 2 things:

Underseat mufflers? With so many bikes going for mass centralization by putting the exhaust down low and toward the middle of the bike, were you surprised to see that on the new R1?

"I asked if there was the possibility of using a single-plane crankshaft arrangement in which the two paired pistons fire at the same time (instead of 180 degrees apart), similar to a project used a few years ago in the British Superbike championship on a Yamaha R1. That engine proved to work well in wet conditions, but it was soon outlawed by race organizers."

Why was this crankshaft/firing order outlawed?

The underseat exhaust was a surprise to us, too. After being the trendy way to do it (it makes some sense with V-Twin engines), OEMs have followed Buell's lead with under-engine exhaust. Yamaha limits the potentially negative effects on weight by using titanium mufflers.

The BSB engine was outlawed, from what I understand, mostly because of potential costs. By keeping the engines as close to stock as possible, the playing field is more even.

Interesting that they said power was down on top. I wonder if the bike being tested was the US spec model. If so, then the softer top end is not surprising, since the test says the bike is down 6hp relative to Euro spec (bastards) If not, then the US spec is even softer, and that would be too bad.
.

We rode U.S.-spec bikes. Some other journos said they didn't think top-end power was worse than last year's bike. The dyno will tell the tale.

A good friend of mine had one on order last year. I will await his comments, as his 05 R1 has gone 70K (with one Yamaha-warranteed head rebuild, mind) and looks barely any the worse for wear. He couldn't resist, even though he has repeatedly said he'd never sell his 05 (hey, he didn't trade it in last I heard).

I'll get a chance to ride it in the spring, see if it warrants a trade-in of my 750. I moved away from the big bore supersports a few years ago, but a really trick one might get me back into that fray again.

Do you suspect it might be an issue at track's like Daytona, and Brainerd where the straight's and or banking's are very long? Did they bring any other Brand's for compairing top speed's? If not, is that
something normally not done at these types of test?

"I asked if there was the possibility of using a single-plane crankshaft arrangement in which the two paired pistons fire at the same time (instead of 180 degrees apart), similar to a project used a few years ago in the British Superbike championship on a Yamaha R1. That engine proved to work well in wet conditions, but it was soon outlawed by race organizers."

Why was this crankshaft/firing order outlawed?

Homologation, same reason why the Wsbk Suzuki teams must retain the dual exhaust can's on the Suzuki's. They must stay as close to the stock configuration as possible. Which is why they also have a 10,000.00 dollar set of front forks mounted in place,... go figure?

Do you suspect it might be an issue at track's like Daytona, and Brainerd where the straight's and or banking's are very long? Did they bring any other Brand's for compairing top speed's? If not, is that something normally not done at these types of test?

At the Daytona tire tests last fall, the new R1 was down substantially on top speeds, but those early bikes were nearly stock. If there is a place where the new R1 might struggle, it could be there, but don't count out a fully race-prepped Yamaha.

There were no other bikes to compare with the new R1 at the intro. It was just my seat-of-the-pants feeling that the bike isn't as strong up top as the feistiest literbikes. But, again, the advantages of the new motor definitely outweigh any possible shortcoming at peak power.

There were no other bikes to compare with the new R1 at the intro. It was just my seat-of-the-pants feeling that the bike isn't as strong up top as the feistiest literbikes. But, again, the advantages of the new motor definitely outweigh any possible shortcoming at peak power.

I.E. - in a Race, the guy that crosses the finish-line FIRST is the Winner - not the guy with the "fastest" bike................

__________________Parfois, on fait pas semblant Sometimes, it's not pretendOderint Dum MetuantLet them hate so long as they fearполитики предпочитают безоружных крестьянPoliticians Prefer Unarmed Peasants
Nothing to see here, Citizen. Move along now...

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